UAlbany adds program amid cuts

Computer security courses taught in Russian; but staffing a concern

Published 12:00 am, Friday, November 5, 2010

ALBANY -- The University at Albany has announced a new computer security program to train students in New York and Moscow at a time when the campus is suspending admissions to its Russian program.

A certificate program in information assurance is developing through a $389,777 U.S. Department of Education grant, UAlbany said. The main overseer is Sanjay Goel, associate professor in UAlbany's School of Business.

The program, expected to attract up to 20 graduate students and advanced undergraduates, will require five classes amounting to 15 credits. Three will be taught online and two will take place in classrooms at UAlbany and Bauman Moscow State Technical University, with which UAlbany has conducted cyber security research for the last six years. Some courses will be taught in English, others in Russian and still others using a mix of both.

"The eventual goal is to create an international workforce in the area of information security, who can inaugurally work in a home country but also outside," said Goel, director of research at the New York State Center for Information Forensics and Assurance.

Bilingualism is crucial to the project. U.S. students traveling to Moscow, "need to have some level of advanced, decent understanding of Russian before they can go," Goel said. "Students in Moscow know quite a bit of English, so I can hope American students will have the same level for Russian."

But Goel applied for the grant in May, months before UAlbany announced Oct. 1 it would suspend admissions to its Russian, French and other programs over budget fears.

As well as the 20 or so students declared Russian majors, the Russian program serves those minoring in the language, taking electives or fulfilling general requirements. This semester, 213 students are taking courses sponsored by the program, according to faculty.

When Goel designed his program, he was assuming UAlbany's Russian faculty would play a role, either in terms of language teaching or coursework translation. But in wake of the campus' announcement, those faculty now say they are planning to retire or move elsewhere by 2012. As a result, Goel predicts it will cost "several times more" to find alternate resources.

Goel said he may need to recruit outside translators. And if there is a lack of UAlbany students invested in Russian, he would have to scout students from other campuses.

"We will find alternate resources," he said, "but it makes it harder."

While UAlbany is suspending admissions to the programs, campus spokesman Karl Luntta, said it will keep teaching the languages, including Russian. "The levels of language instruction that we'll be able to offer is still under discussion," he said.

It's uncertain if instruction will involve tenured professors or part-time lecturers. Also at stake is if students can study Russian, French or Italian long enough to grasp the very technical vocabulary of fields like computer security.

Basic grammar is required to talk about everyday topics, said Charles Rougle, associate professor in the Russian program, who offered to help Goel and said he will soon retire. "But as far as talking about literature or something technical or giving a speech, that's way beyond what we do in the first two years."